Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 12,816 residents, this town was settled in 1859.
Susanville grades low on several counts. Its weakest is incomes (D): the median household income is $62K, and 18% of residents live below the poverty line. A typical home there costs about $239K, 3.5 years of the Susanville area’s $67K median household income. Walkability is its strong suit: it is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns. All told, that adds up to a D overall and a rank of 637th of 841 in California. Nationally, it does better than 8% of U.S. towns. This California town is home to Lassen Community College. 59% of working residents work locally here, where California’s towns sit at 6.6% and U.S. towns at 8%.
Figures: incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · Census LEHD, 2023.
Where Susanville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Susanville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 882 in 1890, 16,728 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1866 and 3 maps from 1954 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Susanville, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Susanville.
Susanville is healthier than towns with similar incomes, fares better on crime within California than nationally and has commutes shorter than most of California.
The median property tax bill is $1,785, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
On the market in Susanville: a median 71 days to sell. The typical home value here is about $239,000, up 1.3% in a year, 69% below the California typical home. Also worth knowing: for households in the town, the share who live in a home they own is 54%.
| Susanville | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $902 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 54% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Two of its 9 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. The largest public high school is Lassen High, with 816 students. Public school enrollment in Susanville: 1,815 students across 5 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| McKinley ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–2 | Grades K–2 | 378 | – |
| Lassen HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 816 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
There are 18 miles of trail across 3 parks and preserves. Susanville’s density of trails comes in at 2.2 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Memorial Park | 0.1 mi | 14 |
| 2. Riverside Park | — | 6 |
| 3. Pat Murphy Little League Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 37.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 69% of California’s graded towns.
Susanville’s level of violent crime is 7.2 per 1,000 residents. Its level of property crime comes in at 8.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Susanville | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.2 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.9 per 1,000 residents | 13.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The FEMA risk score for Susanville comes to 84 of 100. The national flood insurance program has paid 26 claims here since 1990. Of the losses FEMA expects in the town, 70% come from inland flooding and 22% from earthquakes. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Susanville after 4 declared disasters, most recently in 2021.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons reach 89° and January nights drop to 22°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 4,519 working residents takes 15.9 minutes, against 28.7 across California.
Half the trips to work are shorter than 7 miles. Employers in Susanville shed 604 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 4,840. For Susanville, the average trip to work is 16 minutes. The top destinations are Redding (2%), Johnstonville (2%) and Sacramento (1%).
| Susanville | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 3.9% | 14% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 9,317 U.S. towns with household incomes like Susanville’s, it is healthier than 60%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Susanville: 21% of adults report frequent mental distress. Of 32 CDC measures, Susanville beats the California average on 6 and trails it on 15. Two figures for adults in the town: 63% had a checkup this year, 40% feel lonely.
| Susanville | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 16% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 63% | 72% | 79% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 9% | 8.1% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 36% | 33% |
| What stands out | Susanville | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.6% | 6.4% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 9% | 11.7% |
| More uninsured adults | 17.8% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Susanville
About 2 of every 100 Susanville residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
3 places in Susanville on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in Susanville.
City in California, United States
Susanville (formerly known as Rooptown) (Northeast Maidu: Pam Sewim K'odom, bush creek country) is the only incorporated city in Lassen County, California, United States, of which it is also the county seat. Susanville is located on the Susan River in the southern part of the county, at an elevation of 4,186 feet (1,276 m). Its population is 16,728 as of the 2020 census, down from 17,947 from the 2010 census. The Susanville urban area contains 8,995 people and 4,233 households. Susanville, a former logging and mining town, is the site of the High Desert State Prison, California (not to be confused with High Desert State Prison, Nevada), which opened in 1995. The Federal Correctional Institu…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Susanville grades D overall, better than 8% of U.S. towns and #637 of 841 in California. It grades C+ for health, C− for safety and C for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
10 notable people were born here, including Frank Cady and Mike Skinner.
